Baltimore City Council committee passes $15-an-hour minimum wage billMar. 3, 2017 | The Baltimore City Council’s labor committee voted Wednesday to advance a bill to raise the city’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022 for many workers. The bill could go to the full council for a preliminary vote as early as Monday. A majority of the City Council members have said they back the bill. The minimum wage in Maryland is $8.75 per hour, set to rise to $10.10 an hour by 2018… baltimoresun.com

Ballots are being mailed today. VOTE!! Mar. 10, 2017 | Members will vote on the National Master Automobile Transporters Agreement tentative agreement in a mail ballot referendum. Ballots are being mailed out to members today. Watch for it and don't put it aside. Voting can't be any easier than this: open the envelope, follow the instructions, seal your envelope and drop it in the mailbox right away. Your vote is your voice. Use it! Ballots will be counted March 30.

Senate votes to repeal labor protection laws that safeguard poultry workersMar. 13, 2017 | The Trump administration and Senate Republicans rolled back labor protection laws on Monday in a pair of moves that labor advocates predict will chill complaints by vulnerable workers, especially in the low-wage food processing industry, which relies heavily on easily exploited undocumented laborers. The Senate voted along party lines, 49-48, to repeal an Obama-era executive order mandating accurate labor violation record-keeping, meaning that companies with on-the-job accidents and fatalities no longer have to disclose that information… theguardian.com (Why is this important? We have members employed as poultry workers.)

Apply online for Hoffa Memorial Scholarship before March 31Mar. 13, 2017 | Sons and daughters of Teamster members can now apply online for the 2017 James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship. Academic scholarship awards are either a $10,000 award split up over four years at $1,250 per semester, or a one-time $1,000 award. Training and Vocational scholarships award up to $2,000, depending on financial need. (See scholarship amount details in the applications.) “We’d like to see more of our kids continue their education with the help of our Teamster scholarships,” said Denis Taylor, Teamster Joint Council 62 president, and president of Local 355 in Baltimore. “The money is there, it’s available for your son or daughter. All you have to do is fill out the form online and hit send. But you have to do it before the March 31, 2017 deadline.”

You’re On Your Own: Republicans plan attack on Medicaid, Medicare and Social SecurityMar. 16, 2017 | … 45 percent of retirees spend more than one-third of their Social Security benefits on health care, from co-pays for care, to premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket fees for services – such as going to the eye doctor, dentist or audiologist – that are not provided… Although we do not yet know exactly what the Republican-controlled Congress has in mind, they have indicated that the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and changes to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are high on their agenda. .As the threat of vanishing health care becomes ever more dire, large numbers of people are mobilizing around the country to both protect the Affordable Care Act and advocate for a single-payer system. And, while collective resistance is brewing, tens of thousands of people are finding alternative avenues for a quieter, but nonetheless effective, form of individually driven resistance… Full story at Retirees.

Tell Congress to oppose the American Health Care ActMar. 23, 2017 | The House is planning to vote today on the American Health Care Act, the legislation to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This bill would repeal all of the other taxes that were included in the ACA, except for the so-called “Cadillac Tax,” which imposes a 40% excise tax on workers’ health benefit plans. With repeal of these other taxes, insurers, corporations, and the wealthy get a tax cut. Hard working middle class Americans only get a delay in the “Cadillac Tax,” not full repeal. Upon implementation of the “Cadillac Tax,” millions of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Teamster members could see their health care benefits scaled back or dropped. We need you to call upon your representative and urge them to vote AGAINST the American Health Care Act. Take action now!

Teamsters launch campaign to fight back against right-to-workMar. 28, 2017 | The Teamsters are planning to mobilize and campaign against right-to-work laws (RTW), both on the federal level and in western states, the Southern California Teamster reports. To make sure members know how to contact their lawmakers, the paper has published the names, office suite numbers in D.C., and phone numbers of every single U.S. representative in Southern California, Hawaii, Nevada, and Arizona…”For starters,” the paper says, “the object is to tell lawmakers about the importance of shooting down the legislation amending the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the Railway Labor Act.” peoples world.org

Slashing Amtrak funding is shortsightedMar. 29, 2017 | Instead of bolstering the national passenger railroad that plays an essential role in the U.S. transportation system, proposed budget cuts would reduce service to some 23 states where long distance Amtrak trains currently make stops. The move would eliminate the jobs of more than a thousand rail Teamsters aligned with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the Brotherhood of Maintenance and Way Employees Division(BMWED)… teamster.org

Teamsters raise concerns on UPS plans for connected vehicle technology Mar. 30, 2017 | As the logistics industry remains ever focused on streamlining its operations, the jobs of UPS Teamsters are becoming more impacted by cost-cutting “modernization schemes. In recent years, companies have been trying to advance platooning technology, which allows a contained pack of trucks to be digitally connected and driven in formation as a way to reduce wind resistance and increase fuel efficiency. “While we fully support industry efforts to raise fuel efficiency standards, this new technology raises important public safety concerns and would have a significant impact on the role of UPS Freight drivers,” said Package Division Director Sean O’Brien…teamster.org

National carhaul contract ratifiedMar. 30, 2017 | Teamster carhaul members ratified a new national auto transporters contract and a regional agreement today which will maintain and protect health, welfare and pension benefits through May of 2021 and provide annual wage increases. The national contract was ratified by a margin of over 86 percent. “The negotiations have been a long and difficult process but in the end, we negotiated an agreement that met the two top goals of our membership: traditional wage increases and maintaining our members’ top-tier health and pension benefits,” said Kevin Moore, Director of the Teamsters Carhaul Division. “Our carhaul members are the best, most experienced workers in the industry and they deserve to be rewarded for their hard work.” ...teamster.org